[Column] OTT Extravaganza at Busan Film Festival... Theatrical Films Are Dead

Reporter Lee Isul

The 29th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, hereafter referred to as Busan IFF) concludes on the 11th. A total of 188 invited films were screened, and out of 587 screenings, 286 achieved a seat occupancy rate of over 90%.

While box office success is important for the festival, and commercial considerations cannot be ignored, it undeniably has a role as a 'film festival.' Over the years, independent films have gained attention at Busan IFF, and many filmmakers have emerged. It has been the foundation for the growth of theatrical films. This year, however, there has been a flood of criticism that the festival lost its identity by chasing commerciality and popularity. Busan IFF selected the Netflix film "Jeon, Ran," a movie with strong commercial and popular appeal from an online streaming service (OTT), as its opening film for the first time. There has been much gossip about an OTT film being chosen as the opening film, which is considered the face of the festival.

The largest and seemingly most expensive large electronic billboard in the Haeundae area, where Busan IFF is held, was also dominated by OTT platforms such as Netflix and Disney+. In the past, this space was covered with new releases from major domestic investment and distribution companies (CJ ENM, Showbox, Lotte Entertainment, NEW, Plus M Entertainment). This year, aside from OTT works, there were hardly any notable films at Busan IFF. The nights in Busan were led not by CJ ENM, which had played a leading role in the past, but by foreign OTT platforms.

Netflix likely spent a large sum in Busan this year. For the first time, it held a 'night event' and announced that it would release seven new works next year. This is a scale similar to the annual new releases presented by existing major investment and distribution companies. The lineup included a variety of new creators.

Photo by Lee Iseul

On the other hand, CJ ENM held 'CJ Night' with its subsidiaries CJ ENM Studios, Studio Dragon, and TVING, but the atmosphere was not lively. Only two new films were introduced at this event: Park Chan-wook’s "No Way to Escape" and Lee Sang-geun’s "The Devil Has Moved In." The atmosphere was in stark contrast to the lineup of popular works presented by Netflix. CJ ENM CEO Yoon Sang-hyun stated, "We will invest 1 trillion won annually in content production," but failed to explain where and how the investment would be made, leading to criticism of making empty promises. Showbox, Lotte Entertainment, and NEW did not hold any night events this year. They did not organize lineup announcements or other events and sent only minimal staff (public relations teams) to the festival.

The festival’s dependence on OTT is closely linked to the stagnation of the video industry. Busan IFF’s government support funds were halved from 1.28 billion won last year to 610 million won. With the reduction in support funds, wealthy foreign OTT companies dominated Busan this year. Even if OTT is a natural trend of the times, reducing Busan IFF’s support funds by relying on OTT is tantamount to depriving theatrical films of a chance to revive.

The fact that even Asia’s largest film festival, Busan IFF, is chasing popularity and relying on OTT platforms clearly reflects the current reality. We cannot keep blaming industry insiders for the stagnation of the film industry indefinitely. The government must also actively work to revive theaters. This is a time to recall the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s announcement last year about creating a K-content fund worth 1 trillion won over five years.